THE PATH OF PREDECESSORS

[Habeeb Rahman]

The Path of Predecessors

When trace out the luminous life of Prophet Muhammad T and Swahaba we can visualize five inevitable aspects.

1. The Consent (إذن) of Allah

The Consent i.e., إذن is the basic qualification to invite the humanity to the Belief (إيمان) and bring them nearer to the Creator.  Either should get this Consent from the Almighty as Prophet T got it, or from Prophet T as Swahaba did. If else, should get it from a person, who has the order that reach unto Prophet T.

Here, in Qur’an Allah illustrates the capacities of Prophet Muhammad T:

يا أيها النبي إنا أرسلناك شاهدا ومبشرا ونذيرا وداعيا إلى الله بإذنه وسراجا منيرا

“O Prophet! Truly We have sent thee as a Witness, a Bearer of glad tidings, a Warner, and as one who invites to Allah by His Consent, and as a Lamp spreading light.”

Through this holy verse, wherein Allah introduced Prophet T as one who invites to Allah by His Consent, the significance of the Consent has brought out.

Once, Abu backer Siddeeq (R.A) asked Prophet T:

يا رسول الله! ما نجاة هذا الأمر؟

“O Messenger of Allah! On which is the success of this thing (the life) based?”

Prophet Muhammad T replied:

من قبل مني الكلمة التى عرضت على عمّى فردها علي فهي له نجاة

“Whosoever accepts from me the Kalima (the Term), that I have uttered to my uncle (Abu Twalib) and then he rejected, that Kalima itself is his success.” The words ‘accepts from me’ should be comprehended in the fullest sense of the term.

1. Thouheed (التوحيد)

Prophet Muhammad T, coming down amidst the people having got the Consent of Allah, invited them to the perfect holy Thouheed لا اله الا الله محمد رسول الله.  Thereafter the mission that Swahaba were assigned to do was the invitation to لا اله الا الله محمد رسول الله. What Prophet T conveyed and transmitted to those who took delivery of his invitation to Islam, was this holy Kalima.  In the early eleven years of Prophethood the Swahaba were indoctrinated to put their effort in stabilizing the holy لا اله الا الله محمد رسول الله in the innermost part of their heart. In short, the second aspect that Swahaba were trained to and they held tight was لا اله الا الله محمد رسول الله.

1. Oath in Thouheed (البيعة)

Along with conveying the message of لا اله الا الله محمد رسول الله to those who believed in Him, Prophet Muhammad T made them swear oath in it.

On the day of Victory of Makkah (فتح مكة) Prophet T took seat on the Safa (صفا) mountain to accept the oath from the new – comers to belief. Due to the hustle and bustle Prophet T delegated Umar Bin Khathab (R.A), a bit below from where he sat, to accept the oath from people. The history has witnessed all these events.

The Swahaba, who have been sent as representatives of Prophet T to various regions of the world for the propagation of Islam, had also followed the way of Prophet T that is to make the people take oath in لا اله الا الله محمد رسول الله. In a nutshell, to take the oath in لا اله الا الله محمد رسول الله from the Delegates of Allah is the gateway to ultimate success.

1. Companionship (صحبة) and Love (محبة)

Prophet Muhammad T convinced the Swahaba of the nobility and sublimity of being in company (صحبة) with Him and of the inevitability of seamless love to Him. Next to prophets of Allah, the most reverent personalities in the Muslim world are Swahaba. Whatever greatness they had achieved was with the companionship of Prophet T. Through a large number of Hadithes, Prophet T has emphasized the necessity of Companionship.

Apart from this the Messenger of God T gives us the glad tidings:

طوبى لمن رآنى ومن رأى من رآنى

“Beatitudes are to those who met me and to those who met the one who met me” and Prophet T repeated وَمَنْ رَأَى مَنْ رَآنِي three times. This Hadeeth implies that the dignity of Companionship is not impounded within the age of Prophet T.

As like, the love to whom, we are in company with should be regardless of any other relations or kinships. The perfectness of Companionship lies in the solidity of our love and admiration to them. On the whole, the stability of our belief is anchored on the Companionship with the Messengers and Delegates of Allah.

1. Sharia’ (الشريعة)

‘To be abide with the rules and regulations of Sharia’, this was the suggestion of Prophet T to the Swahaba. To follow the laws of Sharia strictly and stringently is obligatory for a Muslim. Prophet T not only preached the commandments of Sharia, but also demonstrated it in the course of his life journey. Those, who are averse to Sharia and turn down its indispensability, are away from the boundary of Islam.

To say the truth, these five aspects are equally significant in the life-journey of a Muslim. For the stability of Eiman, for the perfectness of Islam, to achieve the eternal success, to meet with the Master of Hereafter world – all these need our firm hold on these fundamental factors.

The Swahaba, who were delegated to various counties for the propagation of Thouheed, were possessors and practitioners of these five features. They were representatives of Prophet Muhammad T viz. they have obtained the Consent to invite to the Belief, from Muhammad T.

As per the command of Prophet T, Swahaba moved far and wide in the world and invited the humanity to the holy Message of Thouheed. To those who gave answer to the call of Eiman, were served the Holy Thouheed and made to  take oath in it, and being asked to lead a life within the framework of Sharia, wanted to earn living holding firm on the chassis of Sharia. They wholeheartedly agreed to and reconciled with these teachings.

This specific and sanctified system that Allah defined to invite the humanity towards Islam continued to occur all around the world through the history. The holy Personalities in series of prophet’s delegates are known as Silsila or the holy pattern.

Sheikh Hasan Al-Baswari, Sheikh Junaid Al-Baghdadi, Sheikh Muhyidheen Abdul Qadir Jeelani, Sheikh Ahmed-ul-Kabeer Al-Rifaee, Khwaja Mu’eenudheen Chishti, and suchlike too many noble divine souls were the leaders of this stern unflinching string. They all did call the people to Thouheed, accepted them as their disciples, made them swear oath in Thouheed, gave them spiritual strength, provided them with mental solace, filled their souls with divine ecstasy, Guided them through the clear-cut aisle of Sharia.